Burundi: UN says nation's on verge of civil war after over 400 killings

Residents walk by the covered body of an unidentified man killed during gunfire in the Nyakabiga neighbourhood of Burundi's capital BujumburaJean Pierre Harerimana/Reuters

At least 400 people have been killed and almost 3,500 have been arrested in Burundi, a nation on the brink of a civil war, according to the United Nations. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the United Nations (UN) high commissioner for human rights said on Thursday (17 December) that the country was on the verge of civil war because of a campaign of political repression and violent unrest that killed 400 people and perhaps considerably more.

Burundi's deadly violence erupted after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced a controversial run for a third term, which he won in contested elections in July. Opposition said he was violating the constitution's two-term limit as well as the Arusha agreement that ended Burundi's 12-year civil war in 2005.

No international community action

"Burundi is at bursting point, on the very cusp of a civil war," Al Hussein told a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, as he called for a robust response by the international community, including travel bans and asset freezes.

On 12 November, the UN Security Council (UNSC) unanimously approved a resolution strongly condemning the surge in killings, torture and human rights violations in the small nation and threatened to impose sanctions against those contributing to the violence.

"There is an emergency for the international community to act and take measures to protect the civilian population. The world needs to understand there absolutely is a genocide underway in Burundi, against a part of the population who is opposed to the third term, and there is an ethnic element to it," Minani said, highlighting the lack of action from the international community.

Explaining that a "genocide" is underway in the country from which more than 220,000 have fled, Minani claimed the situation is a stark reminder of that of Rwanda in 1993-1994, when between 800,000 and 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered.

"It is important to assess whether the political culture of Uganda will enable us to lead a successful mediation, especially within the electoral atmosphere surrounding Museveni," the leader, who asked to remain anonymous, told IBTimes UK.